A recent
poll by Rasmussen
Reports, an American public opinion polling firm, confirmed that
73 percent of Americans believe it's important for the United States
to cut its dependency on fossil fuels. Rasmussen Reports conducted
the poll on June 16-17 asking 1,000 Americans what their
thoughts were on fossil fuel dependency, government policies, and
the oil
spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The
poll states that 73 percent of American adults believe it's "at
least somewhat important for the country to change it's dependency on
fossil fuels" while another 42 percent of adults think it's very
important. Only 23 percent say it's not important at all. As
far as the government's
involvement in fossil fuels goes, 41 percent believe
government policies should be enacted to "discourage use of
fossil fuels and encourage the use of alternative energy."

BP's
recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which began April 20 when the
oil rig Deepwater
Horizon exploded,
has clearly impacted more than just its surrounding environment.
While countless amounts of wildlife
have been destroyed and several businesses ruined, this poll
indicates that Americans all over the country are speaking out in
anger against this disaster, and their not just environmentalists.

According
to the poll, 43 percent of American adults believe that the
disastrous oil leak in the Gulf is at least "somewhat likely to
change our dependency
on fossil fuels in the near future." On that same note,
54 percent of women say the Gulf oil leak will cause America to
change its dependency on fossil fuels, but 61 percent of men think
that idea is unlikely.

Despite
the number of Americans who think cutting fossil fuel dependency is
important, a majority of U.S. citizens still believe offshore
drilling is vital to meet the energy needs of America. Seventy-six
percent think offshore drilling is at least somewhat important in
meeting these needs, and 60 percent believe offshore drilling
should be allowed despite the oil spill in the Gulf.

When
questioned about the United States' future purchases
of foreign oil , only 29 percent of citizens believe the
country will buy less oil from the Middle East. Forty-five percent
think it will stay the same and 19 percent think the U.S. will buy
more foreign oil over the next five years.

There
is a ray of light through some of those bleak
numbers, though. According to the poll, 48 percent of U.S.
citizens say they are likely to buy an alternative energy car in the
next 10 years, and 63 percent say "investing in renewable energy
resources such as solar and wind is the better long-term financial
investment for America than investing in fossil fuels."